Hebrew: Debash denotes bee-honey (Judg. 14:8); but also frequently a vegetable honey distilled from trees (Gen. 43:11; Ezek. 27:17). In these passages it may probably mean “dibs,” or syrup of grapes, i.e., the juice of ripe grapes boiled down to one-third of its bulk.

Canaan was a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8). Milk and honey were among the chief dainties in the earlier ages, as they are now among the Bedawin (Bedouin); and butter and honey are also mentioned among articles of food (Isa. 7:15). The ancients used honey instead of sugar (Ps. 119:103; Prov. 24:13); but when taken in great quantities it caused nausea, a fact referred to in Prov. 25:16-17 to inculcate moderation in pleasures.